Greetings from San Francisco

I hope it is still warm in Ohio when I get back, because the general word here is BRRRR! I remember it being chilly here the last two times I was in San Fran for ALA, but this is ridiculous. The winds were particularly fierce for a few days and add to that temperature highs in the 50's and 60's, and you have some heavy coat weather. It provided the most excellent excuse however for me to go shopping my first day here and buy an expensive sport coat at Nordstrom's (and of course one had to buy pants, camisole and scarf to go with it.....)

The CDA ruling was big news of course the first day, but everyone has pretty much forgotten that by now because most people felt that was the ruling that could come out.

The emphasis during this conference seems to be on (brace yourself) READING since President Clinton is heavily stressing his America Reads Challenge. But of course, the meetings that have people hanging out of the doors are the discussions on filters or blocks to the Internet. Basically, they are the same conversations that we have had in Ohio the last few months. OPLIN has received much press already and it is listed on some national press pieces by ALA.

Other key issues revolve around: LSTA, copyright & intellectual property, library services to children & youth, public access to government information, discounted telecommunications rates, and next generation Internet & Internet II. More on some of these topics in the next issue of NOLA NOTES.

And of course the big news Sunday was the "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender Liberation Parade" which attracted 500,000 people clogging the same streets we needed to cross to get to meetings. A bomb scare during the parade in front of the Marriott Hotel (which is of course where a meeting I was in charge of was being held) caused a big delay since police blocked off the entire block around the Marriott. When it was reopened 45 minutes later, 10 brave souls still showed up for my meeting. Now that is dedication!

My fun events included: a reunion of Bechtel Fellows, a dinner with Disney where I was seated next to the brilliant illustrator Wendol Minor, a luncheon with Scholastic where we heard 10 famous authors/illustrators share personal anecdotes of the first book they remember being read to them, or the first book they remembered reading or loving, and the Newbery/ Caldecott dinner where I was a guest of Harcourt Brace publishers and was seated next to the fun-loving author/illustrator Janet Stevens (TOPS AND BOTTOMS). I talked to her about the possibility of coming to NOLA for our early childhood literature conference but she is booked 2 years in advance. She told me the name of her agent that I could contact to try to wrangle a deal however since she already has another appearance in Ohio in 1998.

Otherwise I have been involved in budget meetings and giving input to ALA's three-year plan which is not exactly fun stuff.

I hope to return to Ohio soon so that I can remember what it feels like to be warm.

San Fran Sue

Items submitted by: Judi Burdette - 09/11/98 08:32 AM

Chairman Bill comes through

Well, it looks like we need to be nice to Microsoft's Bill Gates. Last week, he announced a $400 million dollar foundation for public libraries. The contribution is slated as $200 in grant money and $200 in MS software. Relevant websites are http://www.glf.org and http://www.librariesonline.org. Details are still being worked out as to the application process, etc.

While this is a good thing for public libraries, you have to believe there is just a little bit more to this, especially given Bill's extraordinary marketing prowess. This looks a lot like Apple Computer in the 80's discounting heavily for schools to win the hearts and minds of the young in hopes of keeping them as adult users when they enter the workplace. The public library is quick becoming the primary entrance to the Infohighway for new users and experimenters. Microsoft obviously sees this as one more place to reinforce "Windows Everywhere". Also, the timing to coincide with the ALA annual meeting is a typical stroke from Gates.

Still, all in all, this should be a helpful program. Who knows, maybe Bill Gates will be the next Carnegie.

Member Websites Update

A number of member sites are now officially online, if still in the construction phase. Andover, Conneaut, Leetonia, Lepper, Portage County and Reed Memorial all have received their US domain names. I will be working with all of you in an ongoing way to help support your web page efforts. Also, I am trying to schedule visits with each member to discuss strategy and to answer questions. If I haven't yet contacted you, I will shortly.

New Stuff on the Horizon

From the "Does it ever stop?" files. Windows 97 has been released in a very early beta. Internet Explorer 4.0 is moving forward for a late summer release and Netscape Communicator Suite 4.0 began shipping last week.

Speaking of Microsoft, if you have tried to access their website in recent weeks, you know they have been having some real problems. It seems that they are victims of their own success, generating some 88 million hits per day. Check out the story from ZDNET's Anchordesk.

Search Engine Face-Off

How I missed this when I went to Networld + Interop is beyond me, but PC Computing hosted it's 2nd annual Search Engine showdown in May. The results may surprize you.

Items submitted by: Kenneth S. Bell - 09/11/98 08:32 AM
Webmaster - NOLA Regional Library System

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